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Tip of the Day: When ordering appliances, carefully check the specs
 Carpenters live by the adage, Measure twice. Cut once. The same advice can apply to ordering appliances and equipment for a kitchen remodel, says one New Jersey homeowner who recently undertook a top-to-bottom makeover of the 300-square-foot kitchen at her 1960s Cape Cod house.
Because Helaine W.’s new kitchen includes a bank of windows on the exterior wall, the plans called for an island vent hood—a wall-mounted hood with through-the-wall venting wouldn’t fit the design. What’s more, the hood had to be 24 inches deep or less so it wouldn’t overhang the counter.
To find the right-size hood, Helaine, her kitchen designer, and a salesperson from a local appliance store searched the Web sites of several major manufacturers and found the Franke FDF 367 1XS 36-inch-wide island hood. The Franke site indicated a depth of a little more than 19 inches, ideal for the application. An order was placed for the unit.
When the hood arrived four weeks later, the contractor notified Helaine that the Franke [...]
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Initially introduced in the United States in 2003 by Cook-N-Dine, the premium stainless steel, teppan cooking surfaces by CDS have been re-examined recently by the scrutinizing eyes of their inventor and patent-holder, Mr. Paul Schacht. To suit the demanding American customer even better, all built-in teppanyaki grill models have received a major technical makeover, resulting in improved heating element size, which led to almost double the actual hot cooking surface. These new models are already rolling out for the Holiday Season 2009.
The intriguing teppanyaki cooking style makes for effortless delicious, healthy eats. The secret is the intense heat of the solid 304 stainless steel surface that seals in all the juices on contact. Paired with its patented sink-down-in-the-center feature when on, a CDS teppanyaki grill can replace bulky pans and woks, and perfectly complements any traditional barbeque grill, while freeing up storage space and doubling as additional work top when not in use for cooking. Main features include:
- Worldwide patented feature: center bows down slightly when on to keep the fine juices in place; reverts back to flat when switched off – Accurate temperature control from gentle 120°F up to 430°F, even [...]
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Gaggenau new ultra slim electric cooktop, the CE 490 is 36 inches wide yet only 13.5 inches deep, transforming the traditional cooktop and creating new installation opportunities for innovative kitchen design while opening up valuable counter space. The sleek design of this slim cooktop does double duty in the kitchen, adhering to Gaggenau credo of timeless, modern design while offering the output levels of Gaggenau traditionally sized electric cooktop. Framed in stainless steel, the CE 490 electric cooktop pairs well with Gaggenau AT 400 ventilation table to fit a standard-depth kitchen countertop. 4 clearly marked cooking zones are operated with maneuverable and removable Twist-Pad control, a magnetic knob that selects the cooking zone and controls the output level and cooking time. All electric cooking zones are ergonomically placed lengthwise across the surface of the cooktop, increasing efficiency and flow in the kitchen. Two 1,200 watt 6-inch Super-Quick cooking zones, one Super-Quick cooking zone that flexes from 1,700 watts at 5 inches to 2,000 watts at 7 inches and one Super-Quick cooking zone that flexes from 1,500 watts at 7 inches to 2,400 watts at 9 inches give you unprecedented cooking performance and flexibility.
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I follow so many great people on Twitter, but cannot stay on Twitter constantly, so I’m sure I miss many great tweets. Oftentimes, I’ll catch tweets that really relate to something I’m thinking about or bring me great new information, as I’m quickly scanning, and I’m delighted. This morning is one such occasion. I happened to catch House Beautiful’s tweet, in part, on a case made for refrigerator drawers in a small kitchen.
 This REALLY spoke to me because I have thought about this issue a LOT. The issue is if one should substitute refrigerator drawers in place of a traditional tall refrigerator in a small kitchen.
This is a personal issue for me as well as being a basic kitchen design issue that I am interested in.
We own our own little piece of New York City. At the moment, our apartment is used full time, as our son, attending college, is living here for perhaps one more year. He and his girlfriend cook up a storm most nights a week. The tall, old, 33″ refrigerator is packed.
As my husband and I talk about the future, we’d love to be in this apartment [...]
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Your budget will normally dictate your choice of products but there are other considerations you need to take into account when working out how much your new kitchen is going to cost.
Prices vary quite a lot, so the figures given below are just a guideline and, as always, shopping around is the best bet.
But work out roughly how much money you want to spend and use this figure when talking to designers and contractors.
Below are some guidelines for establishing a realistic budget.
Budget Guidelines
First of all, if you limit your spending to 15% of your home’s value you should recoup 90% of the costs when you sell. Try to keep your investment relative to your homes worth, but at the same time make it worth your while by spending on the items that you really want.
Second, figure your product costs to be 1/2 to 2/3 of the total remodel. Choose your appliances, cabinets, countertops, flooring and all other fixtures first. The remaining money will go towards installation and design.
Third, if you become overwhelmed with selection choices hire a design consultant to help you. A designer can save you money [...]
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I’m crazy about sink accessories! In my new home, I have this one small built-in cutting board, and it’s so incredibly useful to have 
You’re hearing it more and more…the kitchen is the new living room. The drum beat is getting louder. I think we were shocked by the financial 
